The Champions Hockey League held its next press conference in Zürich today, with members of the competition joining with the four participating teams of the National League.
Each team sent representatives to the press conference, who were asked to give brief statements about playing in, and their aims for, the upcoming CHL season:
Sven Leuenberger, Sport Manager of the ZSC Lions, opened with a bold statement: “It’s time for a Swiss team to win the CHL!" he affirmed. "But it’s already hard to make it through the Group Stage. As soon the team enters the playoffs, it’s always the same – the players are keen to win every game and want to proceed. If we make the playoffs, then our next goal is the quarter-finals, and then the next round – step by step.”
Greg Ireland is Head Coach of HC Lugano who are in their second CHL season, but he wasn't behind the bench for their last one which went as far as the Round of 16. “In hockey, we’re all competitive. We want to play against the best teams, best players, best coaches. The CHL gives us to chance to battle the best of Europe and it’s a great challenge, it will be great to see other styles of hockey. For us it will be a great pride to represent our club and our city.”
Grégory Hofmann, player of HC Lugano added: “The CHL is a great thing for players. It’s a platform to show your own skills on an international level. In CHL you play against great opponents, the best teams of Europe. Every player is interested to use the CHL as stage to shine – players like the CHL and try to perform very well in those games.”
"I believe all four Swiss teams have a chance at winning the CHL"Kari Jalonen (Head Coach, SC Bern)
Kari Jalonen saw his SC Bern side knocked out in the Quarter-Finals last season and the year before too. “Every year, the CHL looks better and better. It’s nice that all the clubs in Europe have grown closer. You can just contact anyone from a club abroad and are a part of European hockey. For the Swiss clubs, I believe all four have a chance of winning the championship this year.”
“The first game against Växjö is very important. We’ve had a great preparation for the CHL, have worked hard and our pace is high," added SC Bern player Tristan Scherwey. "The team is hungry and next week it’s about to start. We are excited!”
EV Zug went out in the Round of 16 last year. Head Coach Dan Tagnes said: “The competition gets better and better every year. The reduction to 32 teams makes it competitive right from the start. I’m excited to play competitive games and to get the CHL going for 2018/19. We’ll make sure to be ready for the first two games and hopefully we get through the Group Stage and make some damage after that.”
“Our group is pretty even. Thanks to the new format every team is eligible to play the Champions Hockey League," said Reto Kläy, EV Zug's Sport Manager. "The reduction to 32 teams brought the field of participants even closer and made it again more competitive.”